All posts tagged ‘geek mom book club’

Last month the GeekMoms kicked off our Geeks Among Us series. We’re excited to bring you stories of real people, doing real things, just because they’ve found their passion. Read on for this installment of Geeks Among Us!

This week marks the beginning of the GeekMom Book Club. (Join us on GoodReads and start reading The Hobbit now!) Coincidentally, I attended my first in-person book club a couple of weeks ago, and I was a bit lost on how to interact and talk about the book. I decided I should ask an expert on book clubs for tips and how-tos for my next meeting: the fabulous Sarah Pitre, who created Forever Young Adult.

Sarah Pitre / Image: Forever Young Adult

Forever Young Adult is a haven for those of us who like to re-live our teenage years vicariously through young adult (YA) fiction. Or, as the site puts it, readers who are “a little less young and a bit more adult.” Sarah is a YA geek who started the blog as an online book club in September 2009. She recalls, “I had been looking for a site for adults who love YA (like myself) and hadn’t been able to find one that met my interests, so I decided to create one!”

The online book club has since expanded to over 60 clubs that meet in person across the U.S. and in other countries to discuss the month’s YA pick.

Forever Young Adult also features reviews of YA-based TV shows and movies and an extensive list of book reviews. Not only can you find a new novel for yourself, if you’re a YA fan, but you can also take the chance to check out what your teen is reading. The “book reports” are written in a distinctive style and vernacular; you may need to consult the grading scale guide a few times before getting the hang of it. Just like the subject matter, the reviews have a youthful tone that make you feel like you’re having a conversation with your closest friend about your YA guilty pleasures.

Sarah gave me the rundown on Forever Young Adult, and some fantastic advice about starting and attending book clubs:

Besides reading and writing about YA, what other hobbies do you enjoy?

I love drinking fancy cocktails, as do all of the FYA gals, so of course we’ve made that a central theme of the site. My other hobbies include going out to eat, attending dance parties, and hosting the Girlie Night series at the Alamo Drafthouse.

Did you start with just one FYA book club? How quickly did the clubs expand?

We initially started an online book club so that everyone who read the site could participate. Then we realized that it’s way more fun to discuss books in person, especially if cocktails are involved, so we launched the Austin FYABC in February of 2011. We quickly built up a fabulous community of ladies after only a few months, and consequently, we decided to expand the clubs so that FYA readers across the country could meet each other. After receiving interest from tons of different cities (and even a few countries!) we launched over forty clubs. We now have 61 clubs, and (in case you’re a YA-loving adult interested in joining one) you can view the complete list here.

Do you have any advice for someone organizing a new book club?

I think it always helps to center your club around a specific theme or genre, like “Books & Cocktails” or “Hollywood Bios,” etc. It makes your club stand out and attracts members with similar interests. It’s also important to wrangle a few friends into attending so that you don’t start out alone! I also recommend picking a location that offers food and beverages to help people warm up to each other.

Do you also have any tips for someone who is attending a book club for the first time?

Bring a friend! If you know someone at the club, you’ll feel more comfortable engaging in the discussion. Speaking of discussion, figure out your opinions in advance so you can share them with the group. I love it when gals come to the Austin FYABC with completely different perspectives of and reactions to a book. Oh yeah, and the most important tip: read the book. ;)

Thanks to Sarah, I’m going to feel much more prepared when participating in the GeekMom Book Club and the next time I head to my in-person one. Who knows, maybe I will even work up the courage to attend the Seattle branch of the Forever Young Adult book club one day.